#myrna core

[hollywood-montrose]

“Adoring Angels” by Benozzo Gozzoli (1459)

“Theology and Geometry” book cover, authored by Leslie Marsh (2022)

“Griffith”, by Kentaro Miura (2003-2005)

[absinthe-over-tea]

either way it's gonna || the pitt

pt 4 <<prev • next>>

pairing: jack abbott x f!resident!reader quick synopsis: When Langdon leaves The Pitt for rehab, Robby hires you as a new senior resident. Meeting Jack on your first day spirals into a year of almosts and miscommunication — all you know is either way this goes, it's going to hurt. Inspired by Hurt by Jasmine Jethwa. warnings: age gap (older man/younger woman), canon-typical death, probably a gross amount of medical inaccuracies, vague allusions to reader's past a/n: Welcome to part 4, featuring an absurd level of conclusion jumping and miscommunication between these two fucking morons. Thanks to everyone who's hopped along for the ride! This one's a little angsty, and longer than the last two updates (close to 4.1k). Pls let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list! Not beta read.

“We’re not talking about it.”

“Did I just see what I think I saw?” Robby asked, undeterred. Jack was still reeling, both from the euphoria of having your lips on his and the hurt of you running away. 

“I said we’re not talking about it.”  

“Because I think I just saw you making out with my favorite resident.” The grin on Robby’s face grew with every word he spoke and every step he took toward where Jack was still planted next to the railing. 

Jack rolled his eyes. “Collins is your favorite resident,” he corrected. “And we’re not talking about it.” 

“Favorite residents are like best friends, you can have more than one,” his friend waved off the technicality. “And it feels like you’re purposefully avoiding the point.”  

“It feels like you’re purposefully avoiding the fact that I said we’re not talking about it.” 

For one, blessed minute, they stood there in silence, Jack’s brain still trying to fully catch up to what the hell just happened over the course of the last five minutes. 

Of course, it didn’t last for long. 

“You know, I’m a little hurt that you brought her up here,” Robby nudged his shoulder against Jack’s. “I always kind of considered it our spot.” 

Jack groaned. God, he was such a little shit. “I’m going to push you off this roof.” 

“But then I’d be wheeled into your OR, Dr. Abbot.”  

“And I’d have them stick you in a room with Myrna. I saw she’s back at Casa de la Pitt tonight,” he threatened, pulling himself off the railing to head back inside. Patients were waiting, and not for the first time, Jack was extremely grateful for the distraction of a 12-hour shift ahead of him. 

After that shift ended, Jack didn’t go back to the roof like he usually would’ve. Instead, he went outside to that bench in the park where the day shift sometimes drinks after a hard day, beer in hand despite the morning hour. 

The universe had clearly been plotting against him — it had been a mostly quiet night in the ED. Not even Shen pointing out the fact (followed by Parker throwing a wadded up paper ball at the side of his head) had picked up the pace. And while that meant fewer people hurt or sick and no one lost on his watch, it also meant plenty of down time for paperwork and overthinking what happened between you two on the roof. It didn’t help that he was clearly in a shit mood, and everyone gave him a wide berth throughout the evening. Even Walsh had stayed clear, only grumbling once about a chest tube he’d put in.

Kissing you was…fuck, he hadn’t felt like that in over a decade. It was like jumping off the deep end and coming home all at the same time. But the way you’d reacted when Robby opened the door? You couldn’t get away fast enough. Were you ashamed of being seen with him? Did you regret it? 

And the more Jack thought about it, the more angry with himself he got. 

You’d had a horrible day. The case with the teenager and her dad had clearly shaken you to your core, though Jack didn’t fully understand why. You’d cried in his arms! And what had he done? Taken advantage of the situation and your willingness to be vulnerable with him for his own personal gain and gratification. He was an attending, for fuck’s sake. You were a senior resident. And it didn’t matter that you were on different shifts, he was still technically a superior. It was entirely inappropriate of him, even if you had been the one to kiss him first. 

“Are we still not talking about it?” Robby plopped down on the bench next to him, two to-go cups in hand. 

“No.” 

“Shen said you snapped at Ellis over a blood draw she could do in her sleep, and you’re out here drinking a beer at 7 a.m. Feels like maybe you need to talk about it.” The teasing from the previous night was gone, replaced by concern and that tone Jack recognized as a warning he wasn’t going to let something go. 

Jack took a deep breath. Might as well get this over with. “There’s nothing to talk about. I fucked up. She ran away.” 

“Well yeah, she ran. She was embarrassed.” Robby was looking at him like he was stupid for thinking it possible you’d react any other way. And while Jack knew he was stupid, hearing his friend lay it out so plainly was still hurtful.

“Exactly,” he grumbled, hand raised to take another swig of his beer. Robby leaned over to snatch it out of his hand before he could and replaced it with a warm to-go cup. Chamomile, by the smell of it.  

“Not embarrassed of you, dipshit. Embarrassed at having been caught by her boss.” 

“But why be embarrassed if she didn’t regret it?” He balanced the cup on the bench next to him, leaning forward to bury his head in his hands. “Let’s be realistic about this. She’s young, she’s beautiful, she’s incredibly competent, she’s got her whole life ahead of her. The last thing she wants is a middle-aged man with a dead wife, PTSD, and half a right leg.” 

“Have you thought about asking her?” He suggested it like it would be easy, just a casual conversation to be had in the lounge. 

With a sigh Robby stood up, putting a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Look, I know you and I don’t generally do the mushy shit, but I need you to hear me when I say this.” Jack looks up to meet his eyes. “Don’t sell yourself short, brother. Or her, for that matter. You deserve to be happy.” 

He didn’t wait for a response before walking back toward the hospital entrance, leaving Jack alone on the bench to mull over his words. 

*** 

You hadn’t been able to get Jack alone. You’d come in early and stayed late, hoping to talk to him about what happened on the roof, apologize for running away like that. But he was constantly in motion, always with a patient or Robby or one of the other residents. 

You were positive he was avoiding you, not that you could blame him. 

Kissing him was… fuck, you didn’t know if you’d ever felt like that during a first kiss in your life. You’d been so consumed by it, by him, that you’d forgotten everything — where you were, who you were, what had happened before he joined you on the roof, all of it.  

Well, at least until Robby had walked through the door. And then it all came crashing back in an instant — the teenager you couldn’t save and the way her dad had screamed in your face just like yours used to, the fact that you’d just made an absolute mess of Jack’s scrub top sobbing like a child in his arms, how absolutely unprofessional you were being making out with an attending at work. 

So you’d bolted. Like a coward.  

It definitely wasn’t your finest moment. You hadn’t even told Heather about any of it, though you were sure Robby had said something. They may technically still be exes, but they told each other everything, and every time you spoke to your boss lately, he eyed you with barely concealed glee that caused your face to flush. 

You wanted to tell him that you’d just panicked, that you didn’t want your boss to think less of you or that you were throwing yourself at an attending the first chance you got, that you couldn’t stop thinking about it or him or what it all meant. 

But that would have required him to look at you. To speak to you about anything other than patient care. 

A week went by, and then two, and your desire to apologize morphed into irritation at his behavior. Two turned to three, and your irritation turned into anxiety. Maybe you had it all wrong. Maybe the reason he pulled away so definitively wasn’t because he felt rejected. Maybe this was him rejecting you. 

By the time a month had passed, you’d accepted Jack’s behavior for what it was: a boundary. You were a resident, and he was an attending, and what happened on the roof was nothing more than a hard day and a lapse in both of your judgments. 

Then Langdon got out of rehab. 

“Are you sure?” Heather asked after the informal residents staff meeting where you volunteered to move to nights to accommodate his return to the schedule. 

“McKay has a kid, Mel has her sister, Samira is the only thing standing between Gloria firing Robby over day shift patient satisfaction scores and med students and interns aren’t allowed to be on permanent night shift,” you repeated the same rationale you said in the meeting when Robby asked if you were sure. 

“I could have switched,” she pointed out gently, shoulder nudging yours as you walked side by side back to the ED.

“You’re the chief resident, and the best teacher we have other than Robby,” you argue back. Instead of acknowledging the sympathetic look you could see her giving you out of the corner of your eye, you knocked her with your elbow, waggled your eyebrows dramatically, and did what you did best: deflected. “Plus, you and I both know you’d get cranky without your daily dose of Michael Robinavich.” 

She snorted, rolling her eyes, but otherwise didn’t take the bait. She studiously avoided naming whatever weird exes-to-coworkers-to-definitely-more-than-coworkers-but-infuriatingly-less-than-lovers situationship she had going on with Robby regardless of how many sly remarks you made about it. “What are you going to do about Jack?” 

You still hadn’t told her about what exactly happened on the roof. Just that he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested, and you were respecting his choices. You could tell she didn’t believe that was all there was to the story, and god knows what Robby had or hadn’t told her, but she thankfully hadn’t pushed further. 

The man in question came into view as you stepped back through the doors of the ED. He was leaned up against the nurses station looking over a tablet and talking to Dana, still in his street clothes. The black tshirt fit tighter over his arms than his scrubs, and his hair still looked a little damp, like he’d taken a shower and hadn’t bothered to dry it before heading in.

You sighed, turning around to put him out of eyesight. “Nothing to be done. He’s a great doctor; I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from him.” 

Heather leveled you with a stern look, eyes pointedly glancing behind you. You made the mistake of turning to follow her gaze to where Robby was handing over the new schedule, ostensibly breaking the news to Jack about his newest night shift senior resident.

Hazel eyes whipped locked on you from across the room, and you quickly turned back around. You didn’t want to see whatever reaction he was going to have to you joining his service. 

Heather was still looking at you, arms crossed and one perfect eyebrow raised. But true to form, she didn’t push. 

You gave her a sad smile, grateful for your coworker turned friend. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. Pinky promise.” 

You showed up to your first night shift with a cup of steaming hot black coffee from the hospital lobby cafe, sliding it across the counter to Jack. He glanced up from the patient chart he was working on, eyebrows raised in an maddeningly unreadable expression. 

You huffed out a sigh and straightened your shoulders. “I want to learn, and I want to do good work on your service.” You gave no other explanation, hoping he would read between the lines. Please don’t make this personal. Please don’t reject me here, too. 

He sat there, eyes locked on yours, for a beat too long. He wanted to say something — you could feel it in the weight of the silence, see it in the hard swallow he took like the words were caught in his throat. You felt the buzz of anxiety creep up your neck, but you refused to squirm. You met his stare unwaveringly. 

After what felt like an age, he sighed, and you saw the way his eyes softened almost into something resembling sadness and his shoulders deflated just slightly before he nodded. As if he were the one giving something up and you the one taking it. The move flared a split second of anger in your chest at the audacity for him to act like the one spurned when you were the one who’d put everything on the line, the one who had been rejected. 

But then Shen’s voice broke through. “You know, I heard they were letting a daywalker join us, but I didn’t fully believe it.”  

With a final tap on the counter with your fist, you tore your eyes away from Jack and plastered a smug smirk on your face as Shen sauntered up with two Dunkin iced coffees in hand. “For you,” he held out one. “Call it an official welcome to night shift.” 

“Should I be concerned about what’s in this?” you joked, holding the light-colored liquid up to the light as if to inspect it. 

Jack’s quiet chuckle startled you so much, you nearly jumped. “I guarantee there’s more sugar than coffee in that thing,” he quipped. Shen flipped him off but didn’t deny it. 

When you spared a glance over at him, eyebrows raised, he met your eyes with a small smile. You mirrored it with one of your own. A truce. An implicit promise that this would be okay. 

And as you settled into a new rhythm and a new schedule, things were, shockingly, okay. 

Turns out, you loved the night shift. You’d always been a night owl by nature, and your sleep schedule adjusted quickly. Getting off at 7 a.m. also meant you could swing by to visit your mom during breakfast visiting hours, and she was generally much less irritable earlier in the day. Traffic was easier to navigate. 

But beyond the logistics of night shift, you also loved the work. There was less oversight, more freedom. You were able to learn and practice procedures you’d never get to see on day shift. The cases were often harder, but more rewarding. 

Ellis and Shen were quick to bring you in on the night shift gossip, including Jesse’s insufferable crush on Mike, the security guard. (And you had to admit that Jesse had good taste because that man was fine.) And you loved getting to learn from them. They were both so solid. Quick to act during a crisis, but just as quick to relax in the lulls. Everything seemed to roll off their backs in a way you envied. 

And then there was Jack — Dr. Abbot, you tried to remind yourself to keep him firmly in that box. 

You hadn’t worked with him that much when you were on day shift, had only seen glimpses of his leadership and mentorship style, how he interacted with patients. Seeing him fully in his element was different. He was still firm, decisive, an “ER Cowboy,” as Walsh called him. But he was also somehow softer in the wee hours of the morning. 

He made bets with Ellis on who could make the most paper baskets (Ellis won every time — she’d played field hockey in undergrad and Jack’s far-sighted vision wasn’t what it used to be), he gave Shen constant shit for his beverage choices (I’m just saying, someone drinking iced anything when it’s 38 degrees outside is cause for concern). He was kind to patients, took his time especially with the kids. 

People were intimidated by him on day shift, the rough around the edges vet. But on the night shift? People adored him. 

It was somewhat disorienting, but also completely endearing. Which made his continued distance with you twist painfully in your chest. 

He was a consummate professional, a fantastic teacher. Told you when you did a good job on a case, corrected you with a gentle hand when needed, never once treated you unfairly compared to the others. But it was different, he kept you at a distinct personal distance, and you weren’t the only one who noticed. 

“Okay, what’s up with you and Abbot?” Ellis asked point-blank one night during a lull, fully leaned over the nurses station with a half-eaten protein bar in her hand. “There’s a pool going, and the guesses are starting to get a bit ridiculous.” 

“Someone should seriously look into whether this ED has a gambling problem,” you muttered under your breath, taking a sip from your water bottle but otherwise keeping your focus on the patient chart on the screen in front of you. 

She snorted. “If the hospital paid nurses and PAs what they should, they wouldn’t have to run a gambling ring for their vacation funds. Let them live.” Touché. “Come on,” she whined. “Just give me a hint. Secretly divorced? Secretly married? You know, he would be the type to keep his marriage a secret at work so he could keep pretending to be all professional about working with you.” 

“I hate to disappoint, but there’s nothing up with me and Dr. Abbot.”

You hit save on the chart and exited out, pushing away from the computer. It was time for a break — your stomach growled — and a snack. 

“I don’t believe you!” she called after you. You just waved her off as you headed to the lounge for a water refill and the apple slices and peanut butter you had stashed in the fridge. 

Despite the apparent second betting pool about you and your attending, it was easy to settle into a routine. 

Come in and chat with Heather and Dana for a bit to catch up on any day shift gossip before they left for the night. Tackle patients until the mid-night lull. Try not to let it get to you when you caught Jack laughing with Shen or teasing Walsh. Grab some food and a coffee refill before catching up on charting. Finish off the shift with the morning rush before handoff with day shift. Pretend you don’t linger a little longer than necessary at the nurses station in the hopes that maybe Jack would ask if you wanted to grab breakfast and talk. Rinse and repeat. 

At least, until the night of the robbery gone wrong.  

She was young. A vet, dog tags around her neck. Four stab wounds in her abdomen, one slashing right through a Semper Fi tattoo on her ribs. She’d realistically already lost too much blood by the time she came in, but that hadn’t stopped Jack from hanging blood bags and pushing meds, doing his damndest to plug the holes. When she coded before surgery could even arrive, he’d done compressions for far longer than protocol demanded. 

Shen had tried to get him to call it. Ellis had stepped in when that hadn’t worked. You knew better than to interfere, could see it in his eyes and the set of his jaw that nothing any of you said or did would move him. The three of you weren’t vets, none of you fully understood. 

In the end, Walsh was the one who got through to him. They usually argue like cats and dogs over patients, but she said something to him too quiet for you to make out, her eyes locked on his and her hands covering his on the patient’s chest. 

His movements slowed, the only sounds in the room his labored breaths and the steady drone of the flatline on the heart rate monitor. She called it when he didn’t. Time of death, 3:53. 

All at once, it was like he came back to himself, as if realizing he was in a Pittsburgh ER and not an Afghanistan field hospital. A few deep breaths, and he was stepping back and tearing off his gown and gloves. Unflappable Dr. Abbot mask firmly back in place, almost like it was never off. Almost.  

He went back to work after, like it had been any other case, any other loss. You all knew it was a lie, but no one seemed keen to call him on it. 

When her husband arrived, Jack went out to greet them. Accompanied him to the morgue. After, he excused himself, said he needed some air. Notably, he went out through the waiting room and not upstairs to the roof, which somehow worried you even more. You asked Shen if someone should go check on him, but the other attending shook his head. 

“He’s always like this when we lose a veteran, but he hates anyone trying to talk to him about it. Nearly bit Parker’s head off one time after she tried convincing him to take the night off,” he shrugged. “Said he didn’t need to be coddled. None of us like it, but we all learned a long time ago to leave him be.” 

Despite Shen’s assurances that he’d be fine, you couldn’t help yourself from keeping an extra eye on him the rest of shift. At first glance, he always seemed fine. But you also saw the way his jaw stayed tense, the rigidity in his shoulders that went beyond his typical good posture, the faraway look in his eyes. 

You recognized it all. You knew what it looked like to barely be holding yourself together, to be clutching onto the broken pieces of yourself so hard your hands bled. You knew what it felt like to not want to let anyone treat the wounds because admitting they’re there meant risking falling apart completely. 

So at the end of shift, you didn’t linger at the nurses station to wait for him. Instead, you snuck away a few minutes early, took the elevator to the top floor, parked yourself at the top of the stairs to the roof, and waited. 

He stopped short when you came into view, body blocking his exit path.

“I’m fine.” The croak of his voice sounded anything but fine. Angry. Devastated. Guilt-ridden. Of course, you didn’t think there was a shot in hell of him admitting to any of that. At least not here. 

“I don’t recall asking,” you said instead, leaned back with your elbows propped up on the step behind you. Your voice was hard, a razor edge to it that you hadn’t purposefully employed in years. Not since your dad died. “Roof’s closed tonight.” 

Shen said he didn’t want to be coddled? Fine, you wouldn’t coddle him. But you damn sure weren’t going to let him torture himself two feet from a 22-story drop. 

He just stood there, glaring at you with his hands on his hips. Under different circumstances, the hard lines of his face and the coldness in his eyes turned against you would make you squirm. Make you question whether you were crossing one of the many invisible lines he’d drawn over the past couple of months. But you steeled yourself against it tonight; this was about something bigger than a romantic rejection, and you wouldn’t let your fear of that stop you from being there for him as a friend and colleague. Whether he wanted you there or not. 

You met his glare with your own, chin raised and lips pursed. A challenge. 

A door opening several floors down is what finally broke the silent standoff, both of your attention momentarily shifting to the voices bouncing off the cinder block stairwell walls. With the tension stretched thin between you two cut, his entire body seemed to soften. You watched as some of the anger seeped out of him, replaced with a bone-deep exhaustion. 

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asked when his eyes met yours again. 

“I’ve been told I can be quite stubborn,” you confirmed, doing your best not to let a smile creep up on your face. You could tell from the look on his face that you’d won this round — he wasn’t going to fight you on this. 

He sighed, raking a hand through his salt and pepper curls. 

“Come on,” you stood, smoothing your hands over the thighs of your pant scrubs and stowing your stethoscope in your pocket. “If you want to brood with a view of the skyline, you can do it at my place over breakfast. We both need a meal from somewhere that isn’t this hospital, and I don’t feel like being alone.” 

You both knew that the last bit was for his benefit, a way for him to pretend this was about what you wanted and not what he needed. But he didn’t argue with you or scoff at your demand. Instead, he just turned and gestured for you to lead the way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tag list: @brnesblogposts @nosebeers @emma8895eb @nerdgirljen @woodxtock @misshoneypaper @starrykitn @qardasngan @artsymaddie @evrybodydies1 @teenage-iridescence 

[hoboblaidd]

On a Cage of Regret

I have conferred with Vorgoth and Myrna, and our extended notes on your experience within Regret's grasp are available. But as your friend, I offer a gentle summary.

Solas could not escape the cage he built until he traded places with you. That suggests the regret at the core of the cage, however personal it felt, was also his. He recognized the impact of Varric's fate on you because he felt it as well.

It was this similarity that he manipulated, possibly in your earliest conversations. The initial denial—for your mind to retreat from the shock of the moment—no one could fault you for that. But Solas capitalized upon it, and his treatment echoes an ancient blood magic we still cannot fathom.

I would offer, however, that your escape shows the true difference in how you and Solas suffered this regret. Solas escaped through evasion. In many ways, he addressed Varric's fate as he did the problem of the Fade: a puzzle to be navigated or, where possible, denied.

But when you were confronted with the truth, you moved—as you said—forward. And in doing so, your chains of regret went slack.

An immortal life founded in denial risks becoming an endless collection of loss. It would appear that, in the shadow of eternity, a god might regret but cannot accept.

I pity him.

—A note from Emmrich

[dardisorange-blog]

On a Cage of Regret

I have conferred with Vorgoth and Myrna, and our extended notes on your experience within Regret's grasp are available. But as your friend, I offer a gentle summary.

Solas could not escape the cage he built until he traded places with you. That suggests the regret at the core of the cage, however personal it felt, was also his. He recognized the impact of Varric's fate on you because he felt it as well.

It was this similarity that he manipulated, possible in your earliest conversations. The initial denial-for your mind to retreat from the shock of the moment-no one could fault you for that. But Solas capitalised on it, and his treatment echoes an ancient blood magic we still cannot fathom.

I would offer, however, that your escape shows the true difference in how you and Solas suffered this regret. Solas escaped through evasion. In many ways, he addressed Varric's fate as he did the problem of the Fade: a puzzle to be navigated or, where possible, denied.

But when you were confronted with the truth, you moved-as you said-forward. And in doing so, your chains of regret went slack.

An immortal life founded in denial risks becoming an endless collection of loss. It would appear that, in the shadow of eternity, a god might regret but cannot accept.

I pity him.

- A note from Emmrich

----

A bugged codex after the reveal of Varric's fate

I ugly cried...

[dalishious]

Hi! Thank you for the survey you did, it was nicely made and it was cool to read everyone's answer. Would it be possible to know what you would have answered? Even if you're the author of the survey?

Thanks! And yeah, I can supply the answers I would have given to my own questions, sure. :P

Q: What previous Dragon Age games have you played? A: All of them

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, which lineage/race did you pick first in The Veilguard? A: Elf

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, which faction did you pick first in The Veilguard? A: Antivan Crow

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, how satisfied were you with your Rook as a protagonist in The Veilguard? A: Very satisfied

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about Rook as a protagonist here. A: I feel like Rook is at the same level of reactivity as the Inquisitor. So I don't agree with those who have the opinion that Rook is somehow worse for roleplaying. And I overall like making Inquisitors, so it's unsurprising that I like making Rooks as well.

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, how satisfied were you with the companions and their personal quests in The Veilguard? A: Somewhat satisfied

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about the companions and their personal quests here. A: I feel like the companions at there core are an extremely interesting cast! But unfortunately, some of them suffer from very obvious cut corners when it comes to their quests. And it would also be remiss of me to fail at pointing out that, like many others, I noticed a lack of intentional care put into some of the more cultural implications of Taash and Bellara's stories. Don't get me wrong, I love them both, but I can't help but think that they deserve better sensitivity at handling their struggles with identity and culture, that very real people deal with.

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, how satisfied were you with the factions and their related quests in The Veilguard? A: Somewhat satisfied

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about the factions and their related quests here. A: Again, it felt like there were cut corners in the development of some of the factions, leaving an unbalanced weight to compare them to each other. Lords of Fortune and Mourn Watch have very limited content compared to the others, especially. I also, like many others have pointed out, am still baffled by the much, much lighter direction taken with the Antivan Crows than in all previous lore.

Q: If you played any of the previous Dragon Age games first, how satisfied were you with the main story in The Veilguard? A: Somewhat satisfied

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about the main story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard here. A: It suffers a lot a lot of the same flaws from previous games, (like the racism for example,) so it's disappointing that there's been no tangible improvement in that department. But the story as a larger concept and execution is, for the most part, very enjoyable.

Q: What other Dragon Age media have you consumed? A: All of it.

Q: If you read Tevinter Nights, please rate your satisfaction with these characters who first appeared in that book. A: Neve - Very satisfied. Lucanis - Somewhat satisfied. Illario - Neutral. Emmrich - Very satisfied. Myrna - Neutral. Strife - Somewhat unsatisfied. Irelin - Somewhat unsatisfied. Teia - Very satisfied. Viago - Very satisfied. Evka - Very satisfied. Antoine - Very satisfied.

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about the relation between Tevinter Nights and The Veilguard here. A: Tevinter Nights definitely does a better job at establishing / filling in blanks for the characters that does not come up in game. Like, long before it was even revealed Teia and Viago were in DATV, I was already an enormous fan of them, because of how much I adore Eight Little Talons.

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about the relation between any OTHER extended lore media and The Veilguard here. A: I wrote a lot about my feelings on Isseya here and here.

Q: Please rate how well you feel BioWare does at a consistent narrative from the previous games into The Veilguard overall. A: 5/10

Q: On the different lineages/races and cultures of Thedas. A: 4/10

Q: On the different nations of Thedas. A: 4/10

Q: On the different factions of Thedas. A: 4/10

Q: On recurring characters (Solas, Morrigan, Dorian, the Inquisitor…) A: 7/10

Q: Please feel free to write any comments you have about narrative consistency. A: I mean, this again has never been the biggest strong suit of BioWare; each game since DA2 has gotten progressively more centrist for example, and I'm 99% sure DA2 was an accident outlier, given just how hard they back-peddled in Inquisition to say "oh no, you're not actually suppose to sympathize with these oppressed people!" But I will agree that DATV is easily the most 'sanitized' of all the games, as if they thought they could avoid any controversy by filing off anything that might be 'too political' - while at the same time not actually addressing any real issues in the writing itself lmfao...

Q: What would you consider to be Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s biggest strength(s)? A: Good character creation. Beautiful art design, especially the different environments. Great voice acting work from the whole cast. An interesting story overall, in spite of the craziness behind the scenes that we can't even begin to guess the extent of.

Q: What would you consider to be Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s biggest flaw(s)? A: BioWare is still a company full of centrist Canadian settlers, and the writing forever shows that.

[getvalentined]

for the ask game: barret!

💭 How I feel about this character

Barret is one character toward which I feel pretty much entirely positive, in large part because of his mistakes and how he handles them moving forward. I love the layers to his war on Shinra, how every mission is more dangerous because he's actually fighting his past self and if a mission goes wrong and he dies then that's what's meant to be. The only thing he has to live for is Marlene, and if he knows she'll be safe and happy, then no amount of danger is too much—but also he doesn't want to lose her, or leave her, or anything like that, so he ends up with this sort of hypocrisy where he's more than ready to die for his cause (and his sins) but wants nothing more than to live to see her happy. He's trying to prove to himself that he deserves that, and in doing so he's initially just putting more blood on his hands.

I think Barret's character arc through the series is really, really good, in large part because he comes to understand himself a lot better than most, which could have easily left him emotionally crippled but just...didn't. What a guy!

💞 All the people I ship romantically with this character

Myrna is the obvious one here (rest in peace, beautiful), but the two Barret ships I always kinda have percolating in the back of my head are Elmyra and Tifa. I refer to the first as "Give Barret a MILF" and see the second as a really slow progression postcanon, where they're already raising kids together and just fall in closer and closer until it's just kind of a thing. Quiet and slow would be good for him, I think.

🤝 My non-romantic OTP for this character

There's Dyne, precanon, but I also see most of his relationship with Tifa like this, and I really like the idea of the character dynamic between him and Vincent, even if it's not something we really get to see. (Rebirth has done a bit for that, and I'm delighted, but I'd love to see them talk shop about gun maintenance and modifications sometime.)

🚫 My unpopular opinion about this character

Barret knows that most of the people who died in his Reactor strikes were innocent people struggling to make ends meet, and he's known all along. He's pursuing the path of most resistance to see how long it takes to break, to test whether he's actually better than the people that destroyed his life, deep down—and he is, but he was never going to get his answer that way. And I think part of him knew that, too.

Sometimes good people do bad things, and sometimes bad people do good things, and Barret is firmly in the former category—but he did do horrible things that were barely even close to justified.

🌟 One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

I know it's like the core of his character most of the time, but I would like to see more of Barret's motivations outside his dedication to Marlene, if that makes sense. I think Case of Barret did a decent job with character exploration, although obviously Marlene remains a guiding light because she is Barret's key motivation, but it bothers me when his entire character is truncated down to "Scary black man who is actually good because he loves his daughter." There's so much more to him, and I think he deserves the chance to express that depth.

[ for the character breakdown ask game ]

[athshainigh]

LOOK, she's not stripping in the break room. That's not a thing that's happening. She's down two layers -- scrub top and undershirt -- yes, but Dana well and truly can't be fucked to haul ass to the locker room when she was already on her way to grab some coffee.

Everyone's a professional here. A bra isn't something to panic over. And, more than that, she'd thankfully outgrown any bodily insecurities two kids ago.

❝ you’re not shy now, are you? ❞

@strayfolk's voice catches her off-guard, the tease in his voice sending an entirely unfamiliar burst of heat through her chest and cheeks. Thankfully -- thankfully, thankfully -- it hadn't manifested as a blush as she turned to look at them over her shoulder. "Shy? Jesus..." she trails off, clicking her tongue in mock disbelief, "I wanna know what world you're livin' in if you think 'shy' has ever been a word used to describe me, sweetheart." Dae is one of the few who can keep up with Dana's banter, who doesn't piss her off for the hell of it. She respects her. That, at its core, is why there's a deeply suppressed bit of Dana that is very much fond of the doctor.

"If you came for a show, you're in the wrong place. Myrna's been offerin' free pelvic exams to any doctor who gets close enough, though" she teases, finally tugging her scrub top back on and balling up her undershirt. "Fresh pot's just brewed, too, if that's more your speed."

you. me. now.

[the-down-upside-finch]

I'm Bored and Want to Talk About My Characters

Gonna ramble about Stained Integrity characters because I've been working on the revision draft a lot lately.

The theme(?) this time around is "What do these characters like to eat?"

Clover: Like most Elmalians, she’s a fan of really strong flavors—especially spicy foods. But her favorite thing to eat is probably raspberry pie.

LeRoy: Give this man a slice of buttered toast and he'll be happy. Sandwiches are okay, too—but there can't be too many things in it. Literally just put a slice of cheese between some bread. It doesn’t even have to be toasted.

Laurie: Apples are his go-to snack, core and all.

Mirak: Well-seasoned rice is his favorite thing to eat, but it can't have any other textures mixed into it. (Just let him have a bowl of nothing but rice!!!)

Myrna: Lemon poppy seed muffins are her true weakness. She also really likes granola.

Hunter: Enjoys a good baked potato. He also likes soup, but only if it’s thick soup.

Francis: Depends on the day and his mood, but he’s a big fan of anything with crabs.

Finnigan: This man is an enigma. I'm the author and have no idea what his favorite food is. I do know that his favorite drink is cranberry wine, though.

Malina: Her sweet tooth might be the end of her someday. She’ll dump an entire cup of sugar into her oatmeal for it to be "edible." Sweet breads (specifically cinnamon flavors) are her favorite.

Blaine: He's a sucker for tomato basil soup.

Karic: The least picky eater you will ever meet. If you gave him a handful of grass and told him it was food he would 100% just eat it. (He's also way too lazy for cooking so. Yeah.)

Nigel: He's a bit of a pasta/noodle fiend—especially garlic noodles. He actually likes cooking (and he's good at it) so the other knights usually try everything to get him to share.

Qa'loë: (This is going to sound weird without context of lore/the world but anyways--) They like sour citrus wisp flavors the most but also will spring for mint with lavender every once in a while.

...That took more brain power than I thought it was going to HAHA--

[super-hero-confessions]

Although there are plenty things to dislike about Primos I can see why some people would be put off by people saying children look ugly in that cartoon because "why would you want children to look hot/attractive" and I agree. However, you need to keep in mind that a good design isn't inherently one that makes a character hot. One example I can think of is Yzma. Yzma isn't hot, or at least if you ask most people, they won't really find her hot. But she has an amazing cool design. She's nice to look at, she's expressive, with a purple color palette, etc. Her design was made to make her charismatic, a very charismatic villain. Characters don't need to be hot to be nice aesthetically speaking. When latinos complain about the children from Primos being ugly, it's because they look dirty, feral, it very much feels like a parody or caricature mocking latinos.

Not happy with that, they had to put a yellow filter and call the town "Terremoto Heights" which is just very insensitive. Imagine if a new cartoon was made based on USA and its town was called "Mass Shooting Heights". You may think "wow, OP, that's insensitive, that feels like mocking a very serious and deadly problem Americans face". EXACTLY. Exactly. On top of that, we have the showrunner Natasha Kline acting like a martyr and victimizing herself claiming she will "fight for the dreams of her community" when literally it's her community telling her to please stop because this show is racist and offensive. Coupled with the voice actor Myrna Velasco insulting the latino community, saying that "Spanish isn't even a latin language" when Latin America is called Latin America because Spanish is literally a language with Latin roots (like Portuguese and Italian), and insulting Spanish because "it was spread by conquest anyway". She was saying this in English. GIRL? She was bashing Spanish for being spread by conquest IN ENGLISH. How the hell does she think English was spread? Hypocrite behavior showing that she is an American first, of hispanic descent second. That's Karen behavior.

This again proves that Disney doesn't care about the latino community, and neither do people who claim to. People want to tell others what to get offended by, but don't listen to the people they claim to help. Because for example, latinos actually loved Speedy Gonzales and Mario Mariachi, but Americans got offended on behalf of latinos and both characters got deleted. Another example, latinos have stated time and time again "please don't call us latinx." A study showed that only 2% of latinos identifies as latinx, and even they don't have a problem with the word latino being used to describe hispanics as a whole. Again, y'all don't listen, y'all continue saying latinx. And now, latinos are saying this show is awful and offensive, and y'all look for ways to ignore and discredit those opinion.

People who do this need to back the hell off and realize the very people they claim to champion for despise them to the core.

[jojoblessed365]

popping into people's asks this morning!

what's your favorite film of all time that you want everyone you know to watch and enjoy?

Hi there!

So uh, I guess if anyone has seen my blog, I'm a sucker for classics, and I don't have one favourite film of all time. So I'll give you 3:

1. The Apartment (1960)

This is by far the funniest and darkest film I've ever seen- the harsh reality of wanting what makes us happy in exchange for our morals is the theme of the movie and is handled quite deftly by Billy Wilder. I think this is my Casablanca preference and everyone has to watch this movie at least once.

2. The Bachelor and The Bobby Soxer (1947)

Cary Grant should've made more than just 3 movies with Myrna Loy, that's all I'll say about this one.

3. Holiday (1938)

This movie is an eye opener for a lot of us in today's day and age- what constitutes "living" is the core question and Cary Grant's character is a phenomenal guy. Plus we get to see some acrobats and some really lovey dovey expressions.

Thanks once again @disasterbiwriter

P.S. I wanted to consider adding The Heiress, but I doubt people would really enjoy it so ... but it's a wonderful movie and Olivia De Havilland is exceptional as always

[cacneo]

I’m gonna throw all my initial thoughts about rebirth here while the ending is fresh:

1) Myrna is adorable, 10/10 no notes

2) I literally gasped aloud when Zack touched Cloud and ended up fighting along side him

3) I feel like square is fucking with us at this point with all the stamp variations

4) I’m still very hopeful for an ending where Zack is fully back. It’s interesting that they are using the white room again like in AC, I’m wondering what connection that has to the livestream and who ends up rejoining vs being in the room and what that means

5) I really need a list of everything that was changed or expanded upon vs the original

6) I’m a little conflicted with the styling of the Gi and the sort of characterization of them as a group of people. I’d be less conflicted if square hadn’t royally made asses of themselves in FF16, but they lost a lot of benefit of the doubt there recently. But having a group that is styled to look like (to my eyes anyway) African tribesmen, positioning them as outside invaders, and having them say that the cetra’s exclusion of them is why they poured all their hate into a world-ending material is uh…….not great, and it’s even worse when positioned in a narrative about the corrupting power of anger and the need for letting things go. It comes off as a “oh but slavery/colonization/etc. was so long ago, why are you still hung up on it, you’re being divisive by not just moving on.” Left a really bad taste in my mouth after that section, hopefully they just leave it there instead of digging a bigger hole in pt 3

7) I’m putting my money on part 3 coming out in 2027 for the 30th anniversary

8) after them bringing Weiss and Nero back in intergrade, and after reminding myself of them showing up at the end of crisis core, I’m guessing they will show up again when the party goes to midgar in pt 3

9) I’m going to have to find a way to replay dirge of Cerberus

10) still not sure what’s going on with them trying to say that cloud thought Zack drowned??? Presumably it’s sephiroth fuckery

11) I really need context for a) why they added roche as a character and b) why he would have volunteered for a hojo experiment

12) maybe ever crisis has / will do some of this, but I really want some context for like, what fuckery happens in SOLDIER post crisis core and pre main game with their whole chain of command fucked

13) the level design and environment people did a phenomenal job

14) Zack’s new voice actor did waaaayy better this time, whether through practice or better voice direction or both. It actually sounded more like him

15) sad to see the banora posters around but no mention of angeal and genesis (unless you count the loveless production being version G as a genesis mention)

16) square really decided to punish me for not using magic most of the game with that elemental barrier at the end

17) I ship clerith way more than I used to. Remake/rebirth have given her so much more character

18) same for yuffie, I’m glad she got intergrade and with the wutai war being a bigger deal I’m looking forward to better characterization for her too

19) curious what the plan is for cid since they’ve brought him in differently

20) and still a little heartbroken that cid/vincent aren’t full party members

21) I guess wedge appearing in the loveless scene with Jesse/biggs means he did die at the shinra building when the whispers pushed him

22) it’s neat that your weapon changes in scenes based on what you have equipped, but it does really ruin a lot of the cinematic parallels with Zack if you don’t keep the buster sword equipped all game

[badassbarmaid]

My initial thoughts on Rebirth.

Disclaimer: I shouldn't have to do this but I know how toxic the fandom has become in some ways, so know this is my opinion only, you don't have to agree or disagree, and I'm not here to say anyone who feels differently is less than. I'm just sharing my own thoughts as I process what I experienced playing through the game the first time.

I'm going to first go over what I loved about this game.

The world building. I was blown away with how large and complex each village/town/city was. Kalm, Corel, Costa Del Sol, Under Junon, Nibelheim...these were tiny little areas in the OG. I was in awe as we entered the spaces, got introduced to so many new characters and side stories, it was wonderful. This approach made me fall in love with Cosmo Canyon especially. This historical and regional intel quests have been amazing, too, in that it gives so much more inside into this universe. I'm still working through the side content to expand on this, but so far, I have been really enjoying the storytelling. Also - chocobo riding is SO FUN.

The characterizations. Just like in Remake, we get personalities for all the characters, main and NPC. Even for the glimpses we get of Cid and Vincent, I love how they are portrayed and make you already drawn into who they are and how they could fit into the story in part 3. This game made me really enjoy Yuffie and Cait Sith especially - characters I mostly ignored in the OG because I didn't like their personalities or gameplay mechanics. The smaller characters, from townsfolk in Nibelheim, other rebels in Junon, the GI tribe, or even the Black Robes...it's all so interesting and complex. I loved it. Getting the chance to see Myrna, Ifalna, Zangan, and even Tifa's father...peak narrative writing right there.

The relationship building among the main cast. I also loved how deep the primary relationships got among the characters. We see bestie scenes with Tifa and Aerith, bonding between Barret and Cloud, Nanaki and Aerith...it's all so real and deep and funny. The banter is hilarious, especially where Yuffie is involved or Cait Sith, but not obnoxious.

The additions to the battle system. I really like the synergy combinations. I thought that was a fun new mechanic and really makes you want to flesh out your parties. I also really like that they make you split off into different party combos throughout the story, which forces you to play with everyone but not so much that it hinders anything. Now as I am in post game, I'm really having fun swapping people in and out, unlike during the OG when I kept it to really only a core party.

The easter eggs to the OG. I loved the Fort Condor minigame/3D brawler nod to the polygon vibes. The hints to different areas of the OG game we haven't seen yet, the music choices, the direct lines. It's so evident that the developers wanted it feeling like we were going into our old stomping grounds, but with some new tweaks and twists, much like Remake. I'm going to enjoy seeing more as I do more of the sidequests.

The balance of the "romance". Of course we all know I am a cloti fan, but i think they did a good job balancing it all out throughout the game/ The first half is very Tifa heavy, the second half is more Aerith heavy, but it shows the complexities of these relationships and that they aren't cut and dry. Now, I will say though that it does seems to be tipped more in Tifa's favor, but I personally find that making more sense overall, but that's me. Independent of my own preferences, I think they did a good job not shoving one over the other in the main story.

I LOVED being able to play as Zack and have him and Cloud fight together, as brief as it was, because it was just so nice to see.

Okay, now onto the things I have concerns/qualms/issues with.

The pacing was rough at times. We would go through stretches of heavy, dense plot, to random long bouts of minigames. It was jarring at points in the story and seemed out of place besides Gold Saucer (Costa Del Sol, the moogle houses, the Queen's Blood game, etc. seemed odd). While I love minigames, it felt bloated. Clearly they needed filler in the game to make up for not doing the whole story plot.

It pulled a FF15 with plugging in characters and plot that required you to know the side stories like homework before playing. While I played Intergrade, I never played Ever Crisis/First Soldier so despite doing my research, I'm still confused over Glenn and that whole side plot. I felt for people who didn't play those games too, or if someone hadn't experienced Yuffie's DLC.

The ending was convoluted and confusing. It's evident that this game knew it was a middle child, so I knew there would be no resolution, but I am so confused by their narrative choices. The fusion of worlds? Aerith may be dead or may not be dead? Zack is still bouncing between realities? While I didn't know if I wanted Aerith killed off or saved, the fact that we don't have a committed decision on it and it's now vague...I don't like that.

The lack of reaction by characters to bizarre behavior. I know I wasn't the only one confused by the fact that Cloud would very obviously act out of character and folks seemed ignorant of it, beyond a few comments. He slaughtered people, spoke unlike himself, and nearly killed Tifa and Aerith, yet no one really bat an eye to it. On top of that, when Sephiroth did appear to more than just Cloud, folks didn't seem to react much at all to it. There were times in the last few chapters of the game that my partner (who watched me play) was very much like what the fuck?! It's one thing to have but muted in the OG because they had limitations...but this was just strange.

The buggy mechanics suck. I wish I could stick to chocobos; I hate navigating the buggy; the controls are just god awful for me. The load in and out time is long, it's hard to make turns or even stop, and I can never tell what terrain i can actually go on or not.

The puzzle mechanics also suck. I hated the sequence as Cait Sith in the ShinRa manor and the Temple of the Ancients. I felt like they were tedious or confusing and also bloated the story out too much.

Ultimately, I loved the game. I like the story choices, the music, the visuals, the exploration....as someone that has loved this story since I was 10 when it came out, I am very happy with it overall and will be replaying it a few times to catch everything I missed.

My partner said it best when he alluded that this has Nomura all over it. I hope the third game answers these questions and gives us a proper and committed resolution, whatever it may look like.

[zenkor123]

WIP Leeg and Tong

.....

Peeta says, “I've thought about it alot, and gone over all my interactions with her, I'm not Katniss but she could just as well be grieving me, and it would look no different from not caring at all. If Katniss was my lover and not Gale’s I don’t want to know the effect my words would have on her."

Peeta feels a relief that Katniss and he were not really lovers, that he's just a human muttation meant to kill, not emotionally maim. He just can't wrap his head around the idea that Mellark was loved, but it's just a scenario, his memories provide no answers, and some questions will never be answered. But he knew what Mellark wanted the most was to be unconditionally loved and to be loved back, it was so sad. He hoped that when he got better he would succeed where Mellark failed even as a human muttation. As he healed with 13's help he would be indistinguishable from any human. Peeta thought about how all the charm in the world could not give Mellark what he wanted, how his mother Myrna never fell for him. It isn't only the worthy who are loved, even the vilest creature can be loved, but Mellark put on a mask and was loved by no one. Who would love someone who's very existence is a drain on others? The shame of this consumed Mellark even if Mellark didn't know for sure who his father was, trying to overcompensate,Peeta reasoned created a person who deep down everybody knew was a fraud.

Peeta began seeing things that weren’t real, and hallucinating, his breath began to quicken. 

Leeg says: "Wake up!"

Peeta jolts awake 

“Why do you all hate her so much? ”  asks Peeta while yawning

“Because she shows less compassion than others, if she is indifferent then why is she so fucking cruel and  awful?”  Tong says 

“Who cares, even if it's true, why’s that  our business?” Peeta says 

“She’s no ordinary human, she’s supposed to be the role model for us all, the leader of the revolution, Katniss is a fraud”

“She’s our propo puppet nothing more, nothing less” Peeta says 

“She’s Blasted cousin fucking deviant who picks on the unfortunate and engages in debauchery and pretends to be better then everyone else” Tong says

“I don’t think Gale and she are cousins, and if they are 12 was tiny, why do you think the Capitol put everyone on fertility pills?” explains Peeta

“If she’s the soul of the revolution then its rotten to the core” Leeg says 

“We rescued her from the arena, which she shouldn't have been in the first place, we weren't told anything about the rebellion, she fell into the role, her actions were hers alone, how can we complain if one girls actions rallied the nation?" Peeta says

“And we've let her fame hoar for too long, she's come to 13 like a disgusting capitol celebrity, I'm sick of her pedestal and contempt for us”  Tong says 

Anger begins to rise 

“Yeah she looks down on us all, treats our leader like  a tyrant, Pissy is only it for herself.” Tong continues 

“she's ugly as fuck and disgusting to look at, I'm suprised she hasn't caused a cholera outbreak, and she's more unstable then you”  Leeg says

“Huh?"  says Peeta still trying to wake up, he removes the sleepy sands from his eyes.

Tong chuckles

“Oh she's pathetic, a serial lawbreaker, a criminal, how many times has she been arrested for?” Tong agrees 

“Why is she even training, is it to kill us in our sleep?”  Leeg asks

“She needs a year in the corrections wing, not a loaded gun, the reason you and annie are different is the content of your character is different from hers” Tong says 

[bushelofmuses]

//body types...

Ocs only

Myrna: athletic and lithe, but with soft spots. She has a little pudge at her hips and a soft stomach that she can't seem to get rid of, and she has given up trying. She's toned everywhere else from training.

Enilasor: short, gymnast build. Most of her strength is in her core and legs, but she's not thin in the arms either.

Jalon: rail thin with nerdy noodle arms. Hardly an ounce of muscle or fat on this woman, no matter how hard she tries.

Chandler: curvy with a bit of baby fat in her face and arms still

Cecil: spindly old man body, but not frail just yet

Lyke: a mystic frame, so thin and meant for lighter work

Vi'tal: not much muscle on him and he's soft around the middle and in his legs. It could be a trait of his race, but it's unclear if that's normal for Owlks or not

Milo: athletic, and he's got cake lol

[paulgadzikowski]

@1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt The novel with McCoy in command is Diane Duane's Doctors Orders. Recommended.

You don't specify which others you're looking for but here are the ones I can identify:

"There's a TOS book that's a musical" John M Ford, How Much for Just the Planet?

"We meet Jack Crusher (erm, the OG) when 4 timelines start overlapping and he's a bit unhinged" Peter David, Q Squared

"Kirk gets cloned, and his clone becomes the sub of an evil invincible super genius and its all very gay" Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreadth, The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of the Phoenix

"George Kirk was Robert April's first officer on the first ever mission of the unnamed starship with the Naval Construction Contract 1701" "Robert is a hard-core pacifist and has to turn command over to George whenever it's time to fire weapons" Diane Carey, The Final Frontier and Best Destiny - superb, recommended

"Data becomes fully human for a couple of days and it's really sweet" Michael Jan Friedman?, Metamorphosis

"Spock has a son in the past with Zarabeth" A.C. Crispin, Yesterday's Son

"We find out how the Romulans and Vulcans split" Diane Duane, Spock's World

"There's a Star Trek TOS/Here Come the Brides crossover novel" "It had cameos from The Doctor (as in, Who), Han Solo, Starbuck and others" Barbara Hambly, Ishmael - the Cartwrights, one of the Mavericks, and Paladin also appear

"Wanna know how Riker and Troi met?" Peter David, Izmadi

"Kirk is shot on the bridge and dies" "Kirk gets better" Vonda McIntyre, The Entropy Effect

"They watch 3D holos of old Doctor Who episodes in the Enterprise rec room" "The Enterprise also has an AI named Moira, which was Zora long before Zora" Diane Duane, The Wounded Sky - Moira also appears in My Enemy, My Ally and Spock's World, all recommended

"Kirk comes back from the dead, saves the galaxy repeatedly, has an intersex child (who identifies as male) with a Romulan/Klingon hybrid" "Kirk beats up Worf" "Kirk's child has superpowers" "Kirk's child saves the galaxy at age 6" "The Kirk stuff is 100% ignored in the other novels" William Shatner with Judy and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, the Tiberius (Mirror Kirk) trilogy - the Reeves-Steves make these worth reading even if you don't like or don't think you'll like Shatner's writing; they were the story editors on Enterprise season four. (I don't remember the Worf bit) (maybe it's from one of their other trilogies) (there are, I think, three Shatner/Reeves-Stevens Kirk trilogies)

"Lwaxana Troi meets Q, and it goes as well as you'd expect" Peter David, Q-In-Law

Random spoilerific reasons to read Star Trek novels, with little to no context:

Ro/Quark is a thing

A Jem'Hadar joins DS9, tries to fit in but eventually snaps and tries to kill everybody

You learn the origins and final fate of the Borg

A thinly-veiled Dr. House clone joins the Voyager crew

Geordi briefly has 2 girlfriends at once (due to different writers not co-ordinating enough, but still)

There's a TOS book that's a musical

There are YA stories about Jake and Nog making mischief on DS9

YA stories about Worf, Geordi, Picard, Beverly, Kirk, Spock and McCoy at SFA

YA series about the Kelvinverse gang (including Gaila!) as cadets, taking on a drug problem at SFA and a very unique Borg scout in San Francisco

We very briefly meet the people who are to Q what the Q are to humanity

Janeway/Chakotay is a thing

Kirk's first mission in command of the Enterprise! Erm, at least twice.

Kirk was married between TOS and TMP

Her name was Lori

In the future, you have yearly marriage contracts that you either update or you don't and I think that's amazing

Trip didn't die! He faked his death to join Section 31 and go undercover as a Romulan

It's not great, tbh

The ENT books get better after the Romulan wars though, it's proper founding of the Federation stuff

We meet Jack Crusher (erm, the OG) when 4 timelines start overlapping and he's a bit unhinged

Teenage Kirk stole a car and his choice was go to jail or join Starfleet

What happened when Voyager got home? Seven broke up with Chakotay like 30 pages in

Kirk gets cloned, and his clone becomes the sub of an evil invincible super genius and its all very gay

George Kirk was Robert April's first officer on the first ever mission of the unnamed starship with the Naval Construction Contract 1701

Robert is a hard-core pacifist and has to turn command over to George whenever it's time to fire weapons

Data becomes fully human for a couple of days and it's really sweet

They never say "wristwatch" or "phone", it's always "wrist chrono" or "personal comm"

There are gays but they don't say that word because it's the 1990's and Rick Berman runs the franchise

Spock has a son in the past with Zarabeth

Everyone in the post-Nemesis era does spy missions all the time non stop, as if Starfleet has abandoned exploring the cosmos for doing Space Mission: Impossible

Bashir does it better than anyone else, he takes on Section 31 from the inside

Remember Control? It's from the novels, except the novels do it SO MUCH BETTER.

Remember how we never found out who Future Guy was? We do.

It's very underwhelming, nobody we know

We find out how the Romulans and Vulcans split

Surak was a Vulcan internet blogger

A Borg Cube eats Pluto

Janeway dies

Janeway gets better

At least one TOS book features a wizard

There's a Star Trek TOS/Here Come the Brides crossover novel

It had cameos from The Doctor (as in, Who), Han Solo, Starbuck and others

Whole book series about Section 31

Whole book series about the Department of Temporal Investigations

One time they do the Bill and Ted thing to escape confinement and it works

Wanna know how Riker and Troi met?

Wanna know what Picard got up to on the Stargazer?

Andorians have 4 sexes and it's very complicated

Data comes back from the dead as Data 2.0, and it was fresh and exciting because it happened long before ST: Picard did it twice.

Lal comes back too and we get father/daughter android stuff! They have a home and everything but keep having to save the universe

One time Mirror Seven is led around on a leash naked on Terok Nor

Geordi becomes captain of the USS Challenger, decides it's not for him because plot, and goes back to engineering on the Enterprise

Kirk is shot on the bridge and dies

Kirk gets better

They watch 3D holos of old Doctor Who episodes in the Enterprise rec room

The Enterprise also has an AI named Moira, which was Zora long before Zora

The TOS crew get together for one last mission. About three times.

There's a Perry Mason book except it's about Kirk's lawyer from that TOS episode

Data 2.0 owns and runs a massive gambling empire on Orion

Spock keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

Scotty keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

Bones keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

You're on Tumblr so you already know about Killing Time

There's a guy named McKenzie Calhoun and he's a total badass and captains a ship of weirdos and misfits

Kirk comes back from the dead, saves the galaxy repeatedly, has an intersex child (who identifies as male) with a Romulan/Klingon hybrid

Kirk beats up Worf

Kirk's child has superpowers

Kirk's child saves the galaxy at age 6

The Kirk stuff is 100% ignored in the other novels

About 50% of the novels are ignored in the other 50%, and the ones that are meant to be in direct continuity with each other aren't always quite

Just like the TV shows and movies, then

Lwaxana Troi meets Q, and it goes as well as you'd expect

Someone tells Data, yes you idiot you had emotions all along and he's like, oh shit you're right

McCoy is left in command of the Enterprise as a joke by Kirk, who is then immediately kidnapped

Ro Laren is captain of Deep Space Nine

Picard/Beverly is a thing, they get married and have a child named Rene. No running away and raising your kid in secret here

Riker and Troi are married, serve on the Titan together with a bunch of adorable weirdos and have a daughter named Tasha

You get to watch all the 24th century characters die horribly in the end along with their entire universe. Holy fuck it's a bleak horror show. Personally, I love it. But if that's not your cup of tea I'd skip the Coda trilogy

[vivifrage]

2, 3, 10, and 20 for anyone of your choice!

*rubs hands together* hehehe

2) Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Gonna do Olympia-4 here. She can take care of a plant! And would probably be able to care for a pet, though her current situation as a Guardian who is in and out of the Last City would make arrangements there difficult. Maybe she can keep some fish on her jumpship or something. If she was a bit more stable, she wouldn't have a problem.

Child might be tougher? She's pretty used to being on her own, a child would discombobulate her. She could babysit well, though. She likes kids and if she has sufficient warning, she could watch them for a time.

3) Ask them to describe their love interest.

Oh god who of my OCs has a love interest??? 😂

Lerato? He has three. We're going to be here a bit.

For Myrna, he'd say she's as sweet and kind-hearted as can be, but not to think that means she's a pushover. She has a core of steel and a quick mind, and it's mind boggling how quickly she can talk you into doing something even if you didn't want to do it initially. (She's not using that for evil, she used to be a nanny bot and thus did a lot of convincing kids to, say, eat their veggies or go to the grocery store with her.) He will happy let him talk her into anything.

For Radar, he'd say he's such a goofball and charmingly silly. He'd say he's much more worldly than he says he is, and that he's a wonderful listener with lots of compassion for others. He's great with the kids in the family and Lerato would totally have some with him if he wanted, but alas he's happy as the uncle so far.

For Hyperion Noble, they're so thoughtful. Very shy, painfully so, but he's so glad they've opened up to him and his other partners, and in time others in their town. He loves the warm, calm personality they show under the reserved front.

10) What age do they most want to be right now?

Hmm. Age isn't a big deal for Olympia or the other robots...

Amanda and Sagira? (Misraaks fankids for unfamiliar folks' context) They are kinda babies right now. They can't really conceptualize being other ages, let alone want a particular age to be. I think when they are old enough, though, they'd want to be Eido's age so they could join her in fun things. She's so grown up and cool to them! But not as busy as their father.

20) What do they like that nobody else does?

Olympia... Arc Titan? 😆I feel like it's not super popular!

She has an odd fashion sense. She likes wearing outfit combos that make other people do double-takes.

(OC Ask Meme Here)